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Built by the Reading Railroad in 1892 beneath their huge train shed, the
Reading Terminal Market immediately became the world's largest indoor food market. Since the days of William Penn when farmers and fishermen set up on the banks of the Delaware, the area east of what is today City Hall was home to many open air markets, hence the name of Market Street.

By the late 1800's the various food, produce and other vendors were confined
in two markets located at 12th and Market Streets. The railroad purchased these
two markets, the Farmers' Market and the Franklin Market, and decided to
relocate them under the shed of their new state-of-the-art railroad terminal.
Thus, today's Reading Terminal Market was born.

The Market has undergone many changes since its first years. The entire story
is told in detail on the website of the Reading Terminal Market. (See our
related NetLinks below.)

Long after the demise of the Reading Railroad and the transformation
of the old train shed into a majestic hall as part of the Pennsylvania
Convention Center, the Reading Terminal Market is more popular and financially
secure than ever.

Today, 86 merchants are housed in the Market, including three
who are descendants of the original standholders from 1892. Over 80,000 people
make their way through the Market from Monday through Saturday of each week. The
Market is closed on Sundays.

For cheesesteaks for the kids, try Rick's Philly Steaks. Rick is from the
third generation of the original Pat's Steaks family. For your Chinese craving,
Sang Kee Peking Duck offers not only duck but pork, spareribs and other
specialties. Your spouse can find his or her raw oysters at Pearl's Oyster Bar.

Photo by John Fischer

For the fresh meat for dinner the Market is full of places to fill your needs
including Martin's Quality Meats and Sausage and Stoltzfus Meats.

Photo by John Fischer

Fresh produce
can be found at Iovine Brothers Produce, John's Vegetable Garden or O.K. Lee's
Produce.

Photo by John Fischer

For those special flowers for the table check our the Flower Basket, Mark
Mainville Floral Design or Miriam's Market Flowers.

Photo by John Fischer

Finally, for that special dessert. Try the chopped walnut cake at Beiler's
Bakery, which features fresh Amish bread cakes, cookies, pies and sticky buns.
Where else can you buy a whole cake for under $5.00?